Thank you for taking time to read this week's message. I hope that everyone had a happy Easter. May you all have a good week.
Last week, we rejoiced in the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead. He defeated sin, death, hell and the grave. Because He lives, we can have eternal life with Jesus forever if we put our faith and trust in Him.
In our message today, I want us to focus on one of the encounters that Jesus had after He rose from the grave. Before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus was on the earth for a period of 40 days. Paul tells us that during this time, Jesus appeared to many people including the apostles and over 500 others.
The post-resurrection encounter that I want us to focus on today is found in John 21. First, we need to set the stage. When Jesus was arrested and taken to trial, the Bible tells us that Peter followed to see what was going to happen to Jesus. Over the course of the evening, Peter would go on to deny that he knew or followed Jesus three different times. After his third denial, Peter heard a cock crowing, and he remembered that Jesus said that he would deny Him three times before the cock crowed. Peter was devastated.
When Jesus rose from the dead, I am sure that Peter remembered that he had denied the Lord. I am sure that he wondered what Jesus' response would be to him. Would things be the same again?
Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were out fishing. They toiled all night but caught nothing. Jesus told them to cast on the other side of the boat, and they did. They made a miraculous catch. Peter knew that it was Jesus, and he swam back to shore to see Jesus.
After breakfast, Jesus and Peter took a walk together. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Peter said that he did love Jesus, and Jesus asked him to feed His sheep. The reason that Jesus did this was to show Peter that He had forgiven Him for each of His three denials. He offered forgiveness and a second chance for Peter to follow Him. Peter accepted Jesus' second chance, and Peter went on to do great things for the Lord.
There are times when all of us through the course of our lives do things that we know are not right. We do things that are sinful and displeasing to the Lord. We do things that grieve the Lord's heart. But the Lord Jesus offers us His forgiveness. He offers us another chance to come back to Him, serve Him and follow Him in His way. We have to accept His forgiveness and set about doing the things that He has called us to do.
If you have something in your life that is keeping you back from serving the Lord Jesus, confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you. He will. You can then begin again to serve Him and make a difference for Him in this world. Amen.
Prayer Requests
After what seemed like a period of improvement at work, things are getting really bad again. I am back to looking for something else. Please pray for me.
Pray for those recovering from the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Also, pray for those trying to recover from the storms in the southeastern part of the US.
Keep praying for an end to the measles outbreak here in the US. Get vaccinated if you haven't been vaccinated.
Let us pray for peace. Ukraine needs our prayers for peace with justice. We also need to remember Sudan, Yemen and Congo in our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will post the verses on Tuesday. I will start posting the Psalms book on Wednesday. The message will be posted on Friday. May God bless you all.
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